Unemployment isn’t the only Palm Beach County indicator to triple in the past few years. Vacancy rates in the office and industrial markets also have risen threefold since the boom, CB Richard Ellis says.

The county’s office vacancy rose to 23.8 percent in the first quarter, up from 22.8 percent in the fourth quarter and 16.3 percent in the first quarter of 2008. In 2005, the office vacancy rate was a mere 8 percent. (Chart above shows office trends.)

Average office lease rates fell slightly to $19.32 a square foot.

In the industrial market, vacancy rose to 10.5 percent in the first quarter, up from 8.6 percent in the fourth quarter. In 2005, the county’s industrial vacancy rate was a microscopic 3 percent. The average industrial rent fell to $7.53 a square foot, CB Richard Ellis said.